Comic Con apologizes after handing out adult graphic novel to children

Comic Con got entangled in a controversy in India after it handed out copies of graphic novel Saga, which contains sexually explicit and violent content, to children.Megha Mandavia | ETtech | November 22, 2018, 19:50 IST

Image Source: Image ComicsComic Con got entangled in a controversy in India after it handed out copies of graphic novel Saga, which contains sexually explicit and violent content, to children.

Comic Con apologized for the faux pas, saying it was an inadvertent mix-up. Comic Con India 2018 hosted the 7th edition in Bengaluru on 17th & 18th October 2018.

“We sincerely apologize for the inadvertent mix up that has occurred at Bengaluru Comic Con 2018. In almost 7 years of our show, we have never had such a thing happen. We as an organisation neither support nor promote such content for underage audience,” the company said in a statement to ET.

Saga describes itself as an epic space opera/fantasy comic book series, which is heavily influenced by Star Wars. It depicts two lovers from long-warring extraterrestrial races, Alana and Marko, fleeing authorities from both sides of a galactic war as they struggle to care for their newborn daughter, Hazel, who occasionally narrates the series.

Several people on social media expressed outrage, disbelief, and amusement at this error.

A parent named Debjani Aich, whose 8-year old daughter was handed a copy on the comic along with a ticket, Batman poster, and wristband in a goodie bag, called the mistake a terrible, shocking and scary matter. “Absolutely negligent and illegal to give children pornographic reading material,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Karthik Srinivasan, a well-known communications professional who has worked with Ogilvy, Flipkart and Edelman, expressed shock and said quite a few had got a copy of the comic at the event, while Rahul Nair, a digital marketer, called Comic Con irresponsible, on Twitter.

Another Twitter user named Anubhav tweeted, “That people handed out issues of Saga for free to little kids shows how little @ComicConIndia really knows about comics. This is just too hilarious.”

That people handed out issues of Saga for free to little kids shows how little @ComicConIndia really knows about co… https://t.co/PzXHmMyFwi